Today, we took a tour of Stranmillis University College in the morning before heading to Jordanstown, a suburb of Belfast to Ulster University Institute of Sports. Stranmillis was kind of like a Lasell 2.0. There were many similarities in the two schools. We learned a lot about Stranmillis' Health Science Program, including courses they offer and the facilities. We found so many similarities between Stanmillis and Lasell! The campus is quaint, the buildings have a historical feel and a personal and comforting environment. Come to find out, most of campus use to be farmland, creating more of a homey environment rather than an urban environment despite being on the southern edge of the city.

Ulster University was a very nice campus. The emphasis of our tour was the Athletic Center and Institute of Sport. The other primary building on campus was a combined academic and student union building. Between the two buildings, it was probably the size of the entire campus at Lasell.  

In the Athletic Center, there is a gym for the public to use along with a separate gym for Olympic athletes to train. There was an entire turf field inside, a gymnastics room, an exercise physiology room, a track inside along with a pole vault and shotput, and a separate weight room. In this weight room we observed a class practicing the barbell back squat, trap bar deadlift, and bench press. We also toured the exercise physiology lab, used for performance testing on Olympic and professional level athletes and the motion analysis lab...THEY WERE AMAZING!            

We wrapped up our day with the bus ride back to our hotel in the city. Once we were back in the hotel, we had an opportunity explore the city during our free time before dinner. A group of us ended up going shopping. They decorate a lot around here for Christmas; there are lights all over the streets and buildings. The Christmas Market at City Hall is wonderful. It's really beautiful at night in the City of Belfast!